Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Baby Names: You Could Really Mess Up Your Kids

Well, made it to 34 weeks and still don't know the sex of the baby. If someone slips now, I will be very annoyed. And then to make myself feel better I will promptly go shopping to make up for these weeks of waiting.

Honestly, I know I am saving a ton of money by not knowing - I would be buying little things here and there that I really don't need just because there are so many cute things out. And then there are the things that weren't even around when Miles was born just two and a half years ago. Those muslin swaddle blankets from Aiden+Anais? I am definitely buying those. What a great idea for a baby during a Vegas summer? I always felt bad because they would get so sweaty all swaddled up.

Anyway, I digress. My main worry is with waiting to look into this little one's eyes to decide on a name. A baby's name seems to set it on a course for life - and man, there are some terrible names out there. I look at the website nameberry.com quite a bit and it shows a word chart of the most searched for names of the day. Be afraid teacher of future kindergarten class of 2017 - there are going to be a bunch of little girls named Renesme and Katniss running around. And those are at least names I have heard of. I think parents need to think more about their child and less about doing something "cool" with the baby's name. Would they want to explain their own name's spelling/pronunciation their whole life?

And when you have to have a list of favorites for both a boy and a girl, it can be daunting. We didn't know with Claire, but I had managed to narrow down the list to about 3 to 4 boy and girl names. With Miles, I just had to find out who was in there, so we knew we could focus on just the boy names. But now I have to not only find names I like from both genders, but they have to "go" with Claire and Miles.

What do I mean by "go?" Well, I like when family names sort of sound like they would all be from the same family. I couldn't pick a really girly name like Claire (which I think is feminine and adorable), and then choose a unisex name for another girl in the family. Or if I were doing all bible names and then chose a really modern name for the third baby, it wouldn't seem right. Maybe I am crazy - maybe you think Claire and Miles already don't go together. If that's the case, then I should stop worrying and just pick from Peeta, Cinna, or Gale for a boy and Clove, Rue or Primm for a girl (did I mention I haven't seen Hunger Games yet?). I am completely joking though - you will not see any of these names on my list... or any of my other names for that matter. I have to narrow them down more before sharing.

3 comments:

{lizzythebotanist} said...

i totally get you on the names needing to "go" together.

if you want to be inspired you should check out my friend's sister's blog. she does a yearly post on southern idaho names. it's hilarious. and unbelievable (read the comments, too)

http://jessica-jensen.blogspot.com/2012/04/names-2011.html

Erika said...

Oh, Shannon, I do love and miss you, and that's a big AMEN on the names. And you need to see Hunger Games before Junior arrives. Yes, Claire and Miles go together. I love those names so don't mess this next one up.

Becky said...

I agree with Erika, Claire and Miles do go together, and especially about the part, "don't mess this next one up." So funny. :)
I don't envy you, I think it is super hard even when you know what gender your child is. But, oh wait, you have done this to yourself!! And to me. I don't know what colors to buy!!! Love you though.